Miniatures range, game development, world building, painting and modelling blog.

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Part 1

In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, peace descended on a troubled Europe for the first time in living memory. It was an age
of reason, of enlightenment, and progress. An age where the ingenuity of
mankind scaled heights previously unimagined. And yet, it was not science or intellect,
nor even conquest that was to change the world. It was the discovery of
something older and far more mysterious than anything humanity could have dreamt;
something that had lain dormant since the dawn of time…

…the Aether.

The discovery of this wondrous,
alien element was heralded as the greatest achievement of the modern age. It
brought unimaginable wealth to those who knew its secrets, and allowed the
greatest minds of the nineteenth century to realise their wildest theories and
create inventions to be marvelled at around the world. And yet the expansion of
industry and prosperity made possible by the Aether proved to be a short-lived
phenomenon; for it was no natural force, to be harnessed by mankind as they saw
fit. With Aetheric experimentation came hidden dangers, both physical and
metaphysical, and dabbling with this unknown force was to cost the world dear.

France, 1815-1830

Following Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the Bourbon monarchy was restored, and Charles X
reclaimed the throne of France.
Though France
finally had peace, few were happy that their dream of democracy and freedom
from the yoke of tyranny had finally been quashed. Fewer still were happy that
their ruler was a puppet to the British, with whom they had fought for so many
years. As Charles X introduced ever higher taxes in order to rebuild his
nation, the people suffered, and animosity festered.

In
darkened meeting-houses and taverns across France, a new revolution was
planned. A secret order of wealthy industrialists, scientists, free-thinkers
and haute-bourgeois radicals formed a
covert society, calling themselves the Consulate of Peace. They quickly
garnered the support of the old National Guard, who had been disbanded by King
Charles; yet although they sought a change for France, the Consulate did not want
another Reign of Terror. Instead, they sought to install a new republic based
on reason and liberty. Through enlightenment, they argued, France would not only be restored
to glory, but also lead a new world order.

Led by the
radical politician Adolphe Thiers, and the nephew of Napoleon himself—the
bombastic Louis-Napoleon—the Consulate drew support from a veritable army of
scientists, explorers, philosophers, writers, ex-soldiers and philanthropists. They
began a decade of expansion and exploration, growing ever bolder with each
political and ideological victory. They bought land, factories, mines and
safe-houses across France;
they delved into the history of the nation, recovering lost archaeological
relics that told of the glories of the past, restoring national pride and
gathering more supporters wherever they went.

The Consulate’s Discovery

It was during such an
archaeological expedition near the Jura mountain range that an amazing
discovery was made. Ancient caves long-overlooked were accidentally opened up,
and the Consulate explorers followed the strange, labyrinthine tunnels deeper
and deeper beneath the mountains, until finally they came across a marvel to
science. Lying dormant for millennia, a sprawling complex of unknown origin
gave up its secrets to the explorers. Who had built the cyclopean palace, none
could say. Yet at the presence of living men, glowing lights of unknown design
flickered to life, and consoles of illuminated glyphs activated at a touch. The
Consulate discovered a veritable city devoted to some alien science; a buried
repository of technology and knowledge, its endless corridors and chambers
filled with strange devices and libraries… and weapons.

The
seeds of unrest within the ranks of the Consulate were sown. Even a cursory
exploration of the devices on display convinced Louis-Napoleon—by then Napoleon
III—that they could retake France
by force, even with the meagre numbers of National Guard at their command. Yet
Thiers had his way, and the Consulate spent many months in their new
headquarters, deciphering ancient scrolls, learning to use bizarre logic
engines, and making scientific discoveries that would have made da Vinci weep.
The greatest of these was a new element, found in abundance at the glowing core
of the monolithic facility. It seemed to be the source of power for the entire
complex, and everything in proximity to the roiling, crystalline material
seemed to warp and twist. They called this element ‘Terrestrial Aether’, and
learned much of its practical application.

The complex was
greater than the fabled library of Alexandria,
and soon the Consulate had learned enough to put some of their new inventions
into practice. Giving new instructions to their factories across France,
the fires of industry burned day and night. With the application of Terrestrial
Aether, metal could be made both lighter and stronger, any number of devices
could be powered without coal or oil, medicines of previously unimagined
potency could be concocted, and mankind could at last take to the skies in
small airships, the likes of which had never before been seen. Most interesting
to young Louis-Napoleon, however, was the use of Terrestrial Aether in machines
of war. He commandeered a munitions factory in the south of France, and within a week had them
producing Aether-powered rifles, gigantic cannons that spat beams of ferocious
energy, and armoured, horseless carriages impervious to musket shot. He knew
that, for all of their ideological superiority, the Consulate needed his Aether
weapons to rid France
of the monarchy, and keep her enemies across the Channel at bay.

Revolution and Conquest

When the Consulate of Peace finally
revealed their intentions in the summer of 1829, all of France was in awe at their power
and invention. Napoleon III, like his illustrious uncle before him, marched
from town to town, gathering old soldiers and idealistic volunteers to his
banner, and arming them with Aether weaponry. At first, the monarchy and their
royalist army resisted the will of the people, but that soon changed when Louis-Napoleon
unleashed his super-weapon upon the Palais
Bourbon, sundering it with a shot launched from over a mile away, and
reducing it to ash. His army then marched into Paris in a display of power, and as the
people cheered and shouted for a new Emperor Napoleon, Charles X relinquished
the throne.

Dismayed
that the Consulate of Peace had resorted to military might, Adolphe Thiers
nonetheless continued his plan. He swiftly set his supporters in place as a new
National Assembly, and began dismantling the old monarchy and last vestiges of
Catholic power. The cathedral of Notre Dame was rededicated as the home of the
Cult of Reason. Charles X was imprisoned for his crimes against the people, but
his son, Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême, was exiled to Britain, under orders to take with
him messages from the Consulate. Despite their newfound military might, the
Consulate was still determined to establish an era of worldwide peace—albeit
one under their yoke.

Though
he secretly harboured ambitions of conquest, Louis-Napoleon did as he was bid.
He set about installing his Aether-cannons around France’s borders, as a dire warning
to any nation who would attempt to thwart the Consulate’s power.

And
so, under the shadow of unprecedented military threat, Europe’s nations one by
one fell into line, signing new agreements of peace and trade with France,
and with each other. Armies of all the great nations were curtailed, regiments
disbanded at France’s
behest, and even the mighty Royal Navy was halved in size. The Consulate
continued to experiment with Terrestrial Aether, reverse-engineering almost
every common technology and material in a bid to become the most advanced nation
on the planet. Slowly, derivative Aether-based technologies began to find their
way into the hands of other nations, first illicitly, and then through open
trade—although the secrets of the Aether-weapons remained a closely guarded
secret. France’s
immediate neighbours felt the economic squeeze most keenly and, fearing the
return of the French Empire, dared do nothing to anger Napoleon III. The rulers
of Spain and Portugal abdicated and fled into self-imposed
exile in South America, leaving France
no option but to assume rulership of a dispossessed people, hostile to their
every move. Prussia, a proud
and militaristic state under King Frederick William IV, began to plot the
downfall of France,
coveting their remarkable weapons for themselves. Great
Britain, meanwhile, concentrated on unlocking the secrets
of Aether for itself, resentful of the restrictions that France placed on international
commerce and its long-standing naval dominance.